The greatest half-mile track race in Canada will line up as history looks to be made in Gold Cup and Saucer 64 on Saturday evening (Aug. 19) at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park.
The day will feature a doubleheader of programs with a 13-dash card in the afternoon starting at 1 p.m. then an evening card getting underway at 7 p.m. with 14 races. The $100,000 Gold Cup and Saucer final, presented by The Atlantic Lottery, is the final race of the evening. Every horse in the Gold Cup and Saucer final sports a lifetime record better than 1:50.
PL Ozzy will be guided from the inside post in the $100,000 finale to Old Home Week 2023 by veteran driver Jody Jamieson, who has yet to win the East Coast classic despite a number of attempts to capture the race. The 1:51.4 Trial 3 winner is trained by Danny MacDonald for Island owners Jody Sanderson, Darren Smith, Michael McKenna and Shaun MacIsaac.
Lawless Shadow has post two for the combo of trainer Dr. Ian Moore and driver Tyler Moore, a father-son duo that won this race in 2012 with Eighteen. The elder Moore co-owns the winner of $964,000 with RG McGroup Ltd., Serge Savard and Frank Cannon.
Woodbine free-for-aller American History made his Island debut last week with a gritty trip finishing second in his trial for driver Dale Spence, trainer MacKenzie Spence and owner Patrick Hill. The $1.6 million winner will leave from post three.
Twin B Tuffenuff will leave from post four and carries the hopes of Island owner Pat Morris of Charlottetown, trainer Ron Matheson and driver Gilles Barrieau, who has won the race four times before (1997, 2000, 2002 and 2017).
Funatthebeach N is the first part of the favoured Jeff Gillis trainees in the race. The Cape Breton native handles the conditioning duties for owner Mark Ford while Scott Young gets the call to drive from post five after winning Trial 1 in 1:50.4.
Trainer/driver Jason Hughes will be looking for his first Gold Cup and Saucer victory with Bee Two Bee from post six for owners Donald MacRae of Vernon Bridge, P.E.I., and Blair MacLauchlan of Charlottetown.
Governor’s Plate champion and Red Shores Summerside track record holder Roll Em will leave from post seven in line to trainer Marc Campbell for local owners Brady Doyle, Brent Campbell, Ryan MacLeod and Savage Stable. Campbell drove past Gold Cup and Saucer winners Escape The News (2013) and Take It Back Terry (2015) along with Time To Dance (2020), who he also trained.
Major Hill will have Brett MacDonald in the bike from the outside post eight for owner Francois Morin and trainer Colin Johnson, who trained former Gold Cup and Saucer winners Canaco Simon (2000) and London Mews N (2002). Major Hill sports 41 lifetime wins and more than $650,000 in prize money.
The morning line favourite is Covered Bridge (pictured above) from the trailing post nine as the second entry for trainer Gillis and owner Ford. Jordan Stratton ships in from New York to drive the pacer as he sits at $375,000 in seasonal earnings and is on the verge of going over $1 million in career earnings on Saturday night.
Sponsored by Summerside Chrysler Dodge, the $10,000 ‘Smash The Track Record Bonus’ will be in play in the $100,000 final. If the 1:50.1 track record, co-held by YS Lotus and Sintra, is broken in Saturday evening’s Gold Cup and Saucer final, the winner will receive a $5,000 bonus while the remaining $5,000 will be spread amongst the rest of the field.
The world class harness racing program hosts a powerful undercard of races.
The prestigious The Papermaker Pace will line up in race six with Rose Run Quest (Adam Merner) the top choice from post five.
First Glance (David Dowling) is the favourite in the Mayor’s Pace in race seven.
Race nine is the Colonel Dan Trot for $7,500 as part of the Island Trot Challenge, sponsored by Fox Group. New Legacy (Merner) is the top choice from post six.
The program features a pair of $20,700 Joe O’Brien Memorial Gold Stakes divisions for three-year-old pacing colts in races eight and 11.
The $7,500 Premier’s Pace in race 12 will feature post two entry Saulsbrook Ian (Corey MacPherson) in a showdown with post six starter Stash It Away (Barrieau).
Dreamfair Zenfire (Campbell) is selected to win the race 13 Birthplace Of Confederation Series final, in honour of Don & Ian Smith, presented by the City Of Charlottetown for a $12,500 purse.
The afternoon program is the first part of the doubleheader Saturday starting at 1 p.m. with 13 dashes in play.
Race 13 is The Monctonian Pace, Guy Gaudet Memorial, for a $4,000 purse. Revenant is the top choice with post four for driver Corey MacPherson, trainer Melissa Rennie and owners Kyla MacDonald, Tyler Lynk and Colby Lynk. The nine-year-old son of If I Can Dream is a four-time winner this season including a lifetime-best performance of 1:53.4 two starts back in Charlottetown. Stablemate Kataparka (Merner) will leave from post eight fresh off a 1:55 victory in his latest. Chikaboom rides a two-race win streak into post five for trainer-driver Campbell.
The afternoon also has $10,350 Joe O’Brien Memorial Grassroots division for three-year-old pacing colts in races two and 10.
The P.E.I. Colt Stakes Graduate Series for four and five-year-old horse and gelding pacers lines up in races seven and nine.
The P.E.I. Colt Stakes Graduate Series for four and five-year-old pacing mares has a lone $4,200 division in race five.
Strap in for an incredible live viewing experience at the track or visit Redshores.ca using the Player’s Portal for free race programs, HPIBet and more.
To view Saturday's harness racing entries, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Charlottetown Driving Park.
(Red Shores)